Ground zero of Ukraine’s dam disaster – in pictures

André Luís Alves was one of the first photographers to get close to the burst dam. A longer version of this piece was published by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Three days after the dam was blown up, Mykhaylo Boyarskiy, a farmer, went to visit his relatives’ graves at a cemetery on the banks of the Dnieper river. He found a scene of devastation: wooden crosses and granite monuments were covered with mud and rotting weeds and the place stank of dead fish. Nearby, an otter was swimming.

The breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region in the early hours of June 6th unleashed a torrent of water that flooded nearby towns and villages and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. So far, 23 people are confirmed dead and 29 people are missing. It also caused one of Europe’s biggest environmental disasters in decades.

“It turns out we kicked them out of here just to get this mess in return,” said Boyarskiy, referring to the Russian troops driven out of the region by the Ukrainian army last autumn. Two of his friends, also farmers, described what happened after the dam was destroyed. After hearing a loud bang, they went to the riverbank where they saw water cascading downstream. Livestock and wild animals battled helplessly against the current as they tried to swim to higher ground.

“This is an international ecological catastrophe, and as long as the fighting goes on, not much can be done for the environment”

The men spotted a Russian reconnaissance group on a boat making its way towards Ukrainian territory – a common sight on this side of the Dnieper, which has turned into a front line. The Russians were caught by surprise by the flood and sought refuge on an island in the river. “But ultimately, the water washed Russian soldiers away from the treetops,” said one of the farmers, who wanted to remain anonymous.

The cemetery is in the village of Odradokamyanka, three miles upstream from the dam. Before the war, more than 3,000 people lived there. Now only 300 remain, many of whom are too old and frail to go anywhere else. Residents get their electricity from a petrol-fired generator and their drinking water, which is in short supply, from a local well. Plumes of smoke hang in the air and you can hear gunfire in the near distance.

Boyarskiy found a scene of devastation: wooden crosses and granite monuments were covered with mud and rotting weeds and the place stank of dead fish. Nearby, an otter was swimming

According to several residents, the Russian army is shelling the village daily. Numerous buildings, including houses, a school and the council offices, have been destroyed. “The locals struggle to get by with shells and missiles coming every day and night,” said Kostyantyn Kyrychenko, 41, one of the few younger villagers who still lives there.

Kyrychenko’s wife and daughters left for the Czech Republic. His son and his brother are serving in the Ukrainian army. During air raids he hides in a cellar that he has dug out. His house has been badly damaged by shelling, but he is staying put so he can help his elderly neighbours.

Residents get their electricity from a petrol-fired generator and their drinking water, which is in short supply, from a local well. Plumes of smoke hang in the air and you can hear gunfire in the near distance

Everyone helps each other out. Boyarskiy handed Kyrychenko a box of food and other essentials, while Kyrychenko gave him a freshly caught fish and jokingly chided his friend for not bringing him the new pair of glasses he needs.

Although several houses were still under water when I visited, the village’s relatively high altitude saved it from the worst of the flooding. But the effects of the dam collapse will be felt for generations. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said the Kherson region is about to face “an environmental bomb of mass destruction”.

The flooding of areas in the lower Dnieper below the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam and the drying of the areas above it, as well as the contamination of the Black Sea, will put some species of flora and fauna at risk of extinction, said Ivan Moysiyenko, an academic at Kherson State University. “This is an international ecological catastrophe, and as long as the fighting goes on, not much can be done for the environment,” Moysiyenko said.

Serhiy Skoryk, the director of a local nature reserve, has spent the months since the end of the Russian occupation ridding the site of landmines. Now his most pressing task is to deal with the havoc wreaked by the dam collapse. The nature reserve is on the banks of the Kakhovka reservoir, which has been drained by the flood, killing nearly 30,000 fish in the process. There are fears that it won’t be able to sustain life for decades.

After the water level dropped, Skoryk’s team discovered boxes of TNT left by the Russians under a destroyed bridge. I watched the men drag the explosives away, mussel shells cracking under heavy boots. ■

Aleksander Palikot is the Ukraine correspondent at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

PHOTOGRAPHS: André Luís Alves

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director of photography Tanya Dudnik
director Marta Rodionova